Nancy
Ellie
When I was young, my best friend, Nancy, had blue eyes and was very pretty. As I grew and assessed my developing body and social abilities, I realized that, unlike Nancy, I would never be accepted by the “in” crowd. My only date in high school was my horse friend, Joe, taking me to a prom—out of pity? I was smart, though, and my spiritual sense precluded my even wanting to run with the “innies,” but I still felt left out. My senior year, however, turned great. I had grown comfortable with who I was, got along with boys and attractive girls. As a result, my scholastic efforts got fertilized by these new social skills, and I ended up as valedictorian, topping the boy who had consistently edged me out. I never forgave myself for that. NOT FAIR!
Jeremiah 9:26 says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
but let the one who boasts boast about this…
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”Stephen Hawking
declares the Lord.
Who’s the world’s smartest guy? Cosmologist Stephen Hawking was way up there.
Hafthor (Thor) Bjornsson
The strongest man? Just last Saturday, Hafthor Bjornsson of Iceland, set a new world record by deadlifting 1104 lbs.
Bill Gates
The richest man? Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, worth $110 billion
The wise, the strong, the rich.
Back to Jeremiah’s boast. As I learned to fit into the body and brains given me by God, my looks, my standing in the crowd, even my intelligence, became far less important than knowing the One who is kind, just and righteous.
I learned, too—from my own experience—that really smart people can do really stupid things—knowledge that has proven both valuable and humbling.
What became of “best friend” Nancy? Though we remained friends—she was a bridesmaid in my wedding—her life turned sour. We did reconnect before she died, and I told her of my hope in God.
“I delight and will boast in the Lord my God.”
How do YOU measure your value—in the world at large, and in God’s eyes? Comment below, or email egus@me.com
A very important thing to teach!
Ellie, I boast only in Christ. The gifts that he has given me, I give back to Him. Many people take pride in what they accomplish, yet no credit is given to God. I would rather spend eternity with God than be famous or rich now, without God.
What you write is so true. Life, no matter what we think we posses that is great, is nothing without Jesus. I can’t say that I have arrived at being comfortable with who I am and what I look like, but I am not where I was. “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so” has meant a lot to me. I am thankful for Jesus. Without Him I am nothing, can do nothing, and have nothing in which to boast. He saved me and I am eternally thankful. He has given me a job to do and daily I need His grace and strength to do it. May God be praised. I am also so thankful for friends like you who help me along the way. Thank you. Love, Anne
So much truth to identify with in your posts, Ellie. Thank you for sharing with so many…. I have been not only blessed, but often given support in evaluating past experiences in my own life…. Praise God for Christians like you!
Your email propelled me to click the link and read the blog. Well done. 🙂
I love your thoughtful reflections Ellie. It’s better to boast in the Knowledge of God. The Bible says, “Let him who boasts boast about this: That he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, Justice and Righteousness on earth, for in these I delight. (Jeremiah 9:24).
Many people brags of their beauty, while others of their strength, others of their wealth. But without the knowledge of God in our lives; all is vanity.
Thank you so much Ellie. It’s an inspirational thought provoking post
Thank you for reminders of life and values of faith.
Hi Ellie. I love this. Would you be interested in being my guest blogger with this specific blog in use? Let me know, please.
There are a lot of things that come to mind on this. Perhaps the one that the reader might find humorous was an incident at my Marblehead High School senior awards ceremony. I had pretty good grades in school and always made the honor role but compared to the Jewish kids who had 800 math SATs I was a dunce. Anyway there were these awards for this and that but none of this concerned me personally or so I thought. I was standing in line with my classmates slowly working our way to the auditorium when I commented on the appearance of my classmate Mark standing next to me. “Wow, Mark, you look pretty spiffed up today with that fancy suit and tie. Are you up for some kind of recognition?” “Yes”, he replied. “I’m pretty sure that I am going to get the most physically fit senior ward.” ”That’s neat”, I said. “Congratulations.” I felt a little self conscious dressed in my worst duds with a stained and wrinkled shirt and hair badly disheveled. I was happy that day to be a spectator and fortunately they didn’t have an award for the worst dressed senior. As these kinds of affairs typically went, it was almost always a struggle to stay awake with all the hype and phony applause droning on and on. Sure enough I dozed off and was about to enter dream land when everyone around me started shaking me. “Collins, Collins get up, you won the award.” “What award?”, I stammered. And so I lumbered up to the stage in a complete daze and collected my trophy for most physically fit senior. A bit later Mark expressed his outrage and to this day I don’t think he ever forgave me or Coach Roberts for such an injustice. To top off the day my best friend Steve got the most physically fit junior award. I guess it was our day. My girl friend was pretty impressed that’s for sure. The trophy still sits on a shelf in my closet, quite tarnished now and perhaps in need of some repairs from being knocked around over the years. One thing’s for sure, today I ain’t no physically fit senior by any stretch of the imagination. Still when I chance to look at my trophy the cool memory of that serendipity lingers.
Sixty years ago someone gave me a little autograph book, and to this day, I still remember the exact words my father wrote in it.
“Dear Susan,
Always remain the smart, good, happy girl you now are. Love, Dad”
It’s amazing how powerful those 3 affirming words have been in my life. Because they came from my father, whom I trusted and loved, I believed them.
Parents and teachers are very influential in defining our value as children. As a teacher, I did my best to build up my students by encouraging them and showing them unconditional love.
The Scripture tells me that I am the apple of God’s eye, and who am I to question how great is His love for me? It is my job and challenge to believe it and to accept it, when I know I don’t deserve it.
I used to take credit for the good stuff I did. Now, I know better! Praise God for his patient and constant love!!
Eleanor: This gets down to what it’s all about! Love, Bill
Well written! I enjoyed it.
Jim